Two pit bulls were expected to be put down after an attack on five miniature horses used in therapy by Hearts and Hooves of Lubbock.

Oreo, a 5-year-old Hearts and Hooves therapy horse, was killed and four horses were injured when the dogs, each weighing about 60 pounds, broke into the horse stable located in the 5000 block of 24th Street.

The horses, which each weigh between 100 and 150 pounds, suffered bites to their legs, bodies and faces, said Kevin Overstreet, Animal Services director.

Honor, 4, was taken to Frenship Veterinary Hospital in Wolfforth, where he is in stable condition. Sparkles, 2, Pepper Jack, 5, and Jolly, 5, were taken to a veterinary hospital in Littlefield for treatment.

The owners of the pit bulls have signed the animals over to Lubbock Animal Services. The dogs will be put down, Overstreet said.

All five horses are owned by Kim Sparks and her sister-in-law, who help run Hearts and Hooves of Lubbock, a nonprofit organization that brings miniature horses indoors to people who need therapeutic healing (physical and/or emotional).

Sparks said the organization has had to cancel several upcoming appointments to focus on getting the four surviving horses back on their feet.

She said she and her family also must consider how they will pay for the horses' veterinary treatment and protect the horses from future attacks.

"We've been here for four years and we've never had any problems," Sparks said. "It was very unexpected."

Sparks said a passer-by knocked on her door Thursday morning and alerted her and her sister-in-law that two pit bull terriers had broken into their stable.

When Sparks and her family ran out to the stable, the dogs had gone but left behind a gruesome scene.

The four surviving horses were covered with dog bites and open wounds.

"I really feel like all this morning we were running off of adrenaline," Sparks said. "I've just never seen anything like that before.

"Nothing can prepare you for that."

Sparks said friends and family helped tend to each wounded horse until help arrived.

One of Sparks' family members found the exhausted dogs wandering through the neighborhood and put them into a kennel before Animal Services officers took them to the Lubbock Animal Shelter.

The dogs' owners were identified though a microchip found on one of the dogs, Overstreet said.

The owners live a few blocks away from the Sparkses, Overstreet said.

It was unknown why the dogs were running free. Animal Services officials were investigating.

The Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney's Office will decide if any charges will be filed against the dogs' owners.